Policy discussion
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Dec 19, 2025 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy discussion; Health · Source

The median for State House Democrats is $5,075. Ranks 159th of 163, where 1st raised the most. 0 itemized donors.
Itemized contributions reported to the state in the 2024 cycle, ranked among State House Democrats. State filings leave small gifts out, and totals depend on whether the seat is up this cycle.
3 measures against State House Democrats. 47% of the 147 bills Rachelson sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the Vermont House. Rachelson sits at −0.62 on the CSIP scale, more conservative than 51% of State House Democrats.
The measures on which Rachelson sits furthest from the middle of State House Democrats, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.
Itemized, 2024
State House Democrats’ median $5,075 · ranks 159th of 163
Out of committee
Vermont House average 62% · ranks 131st of 150
CSIP ideology
More conservative than 51% of State House Democrats · ± 0.14
Statements
20 posts on X
Roll calls
Compared with Vermont House
Bills sponsored
and 0 cosponsored
Peer group: State House Democrats. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Rachelson, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Rachelson is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).
Rachelson claims credit less than 95% of State House Democrats. Credit claiming in 0% of 20 statements, against 14% for the average State House Democrat; 729th of 764.
An AI model reads each of Rachelson’s 20 statements in the VT 2025–26 session (20 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for State House Democrats and ranked among them.
Share of statements carrying each label, the VT 2025–26 session
| Row | Rachelson | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Policy discussion | 15% | 39% |
| Personal attacks | 0% | 3% |
| Policy criticism | 0% | 10% |
| Bipartisanship | 0% | 3% |
| Credit claiming | 0% | 14% |
statements classified
20 posts on X.
| Part | Value |
|---|---|
| posts on X | 20 |
The thick bar is Rachelson; the thin grey bar is the average State House Democrats. A longer thick bar means Rachelson does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.
Rachelson used no extreme labels in 20 statements. The peer average is 1.0%.
No extreme labels in this window.
Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements
No targets recorded.
Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.
Share of statements per month, the VT 2025–26 session
No month in this window has 10 or more statements, too few to chart month by month.
Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the VT 2025–26 session, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%. 22 months are hatched here; 11 of them have no statements.
Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned
Policy discussion
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Dec 19, 2025 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy discussion; Health · Source
Up to five recent statements in each category
Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
No statements in this category in this window.
Newest first, the VT 2025–26 session
Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 20 posts on X.
Agriculture and Food is what Rachelson talks about most: 33% of policy statements, 7.2 times the peer share. Peers give it 4.6%. Agreement with legislation needs at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Rachelson talks about. The bills Rachelson sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.
Share of policy statements by area, the VT 2025–26 session
| Row | Rachelson | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Food | 33% | 5% |
| Education | 33% | 15% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 33% | 15% |
| Health | 33% | 15% |
| Armed Forces and National Security | 0% | 3% |
The thick bar is the share of Rachelson’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for State House Democrats. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 37%. Grey ticks are the State House Democrats averages.
| Area | Talks about | State House Democrats, talks about | Legislates on | State House Democrats, legislates on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Food | 33% | 5% | 1% | 3% |
| Education | 33% | 15% | 6% | 10% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 33% | 15% | 7% | 8% |
| Health | 33% | 15% | 7% | 15% |
| Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues | 0% | 10% | 11% | 4% |
No agreement score.Needs at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills in the window.
Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Rachelson legislates on exactly the areas Rachelson talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Rachelson sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Rachelson sits at −0.62 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more conservative than 51% of State House Democrats. Approximate range −0.76 to −0.48, which understates the uncertainty; from 5 donors and 325 roll calls.
CSIP, the lab’s Common-Space Ideal Point, places every official, federal and state, on one left–right scale, estimated from roll-call votes, who gives money to whom, and the text of statements. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of “moderate”.
CSIP ideal point
Approximate range −0.76 to −0.48. From 5 donors and 325 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.
The outlined dot is Rachelson, coloured by its side of 0 (blue left, red right, deeper further out); the bar through it is the approximate range (±1.96 standard errors), which understates the uncertainty; the grey ticks below are the medians of Rachelson’s groups. 0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition.
The score summarises how an official votes, who funds them and how they talk, relative to everyone else. It does not grade positions as good or bad, and two officials with the same score can differ on any single issue. The ± range is 1.96 standard errors, which understates the uncertainty: scores whose ranges overlap may not differ at all, and even scores whose ranges do not overlap may not differ.
Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale
| Group | Officials | Median | Share left of Rachelson |
|---|---|---|---|
| State House Democrats | 2392 | −0.6 | 51% |
| Vermont House | 147 | −0.4 | 18% |
| All State House | 5324 | +0.1 | 23% |
Every small dot is one official on the same scale, coloured by its own score (blue left of 0, red right of 0, grey at 0, deeper further out) and spread up and down only to keep dots apart; where a group is crowded the dots overlap, and darker patches mean more officials. The large outlined dot is Rachelson in every row; the rule is each group’s median. The table under the figure gives the share of each group to the left of Rachelson.
Rachelson reported $200 in the 2024 cycle, 3.9% of the State House Democrats’ median of $5,075. State filings report no small-donation total.
Campaign money from state campaign-finance filings, as aggregates only; the lab never shows an individual donor. Campaigns must report by name every person who gives them more than $200 in a cycle (“itemized”); smaller gifts are reported only as one total (“unitemized”), so donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations describe itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift total, so these figures add up itemized contributions only.
itemized in the 2024 cycle
From 0 itemized donors. State House Democrats’ median $5,075.
Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2024 cycle.
| Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PACs and other committees | $200 | 100.0% |
Totals say how much a campaign took in, not how it was spent, and they rise sharply when a seat is up for election; compare cycles with that in mind.
Itemized contributions, 2020 to 2024. The grey line is the State House Democrats’ median for 2024.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 cycle | $1,100 |
| 2022 cycle | $250 |
| 2024 cycle | $200 |
Itemized contributions by donor state.
No itemized donors with an address.
State filings report no total for small gifts.
Not reported in state filings.
Individuals who gave more than $200, by donor state
| State | Value |
|---|---|
| Alaska | No data |
| Maine | No data |
| Vermont | No data |
| New Hampshire | No data |
| Washington | No data |
| Idaho | No data |
| Montana | No data |
| North Dakota | No data |
| Minnesota | No data |
| Illinois | No data |
| Wisconsin | No data |
| Michigan | No data |
| New York | No data |
| Rhode Island | No data |
| Massachusetts | No data |
| Oregon | No data |
| Nevada | No data |
| Wyoming | No data |
| South Dakota | No data |
| Iowa | No data |
| Indiana | No data |
| Ohio | No data |
| Pennsylvania | No data |
| New Jersey | No data |
| Connecticut | No data |
| California | No data |
| Utah | No data |
| Colorado | No data |
| Nebraska | No data |
| Missouri | No data |
| Kentucky | No data |
| West Virginia | No data |
| Virginia | No data |
| Maryland | No data |
| Delaware | No data |
| Arizona | No data |
| New Mexico | No data |
| Kansas | No data |
| Arkansas | No data |
| Tennessee | No data |
| North Carolina | No data |
| South Carolina | No data |
| District of Columbia | No data |
| Oklahoma | No data |
| Louisiana | No data |
| Mississippi | No data |
| Alabama | No data |
| Georgia | No data |
| Hawaii | No data |
| Texas | No data |
| Florida | No data |
itemized donors
People who gave more than $200
No itemized individual money.
Every state the same size. Darker states gave more itemized money; hatched states had no itemized donors; the outlined state is Vermont. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.
Itemized, 2024 cycle.
No occupations reported.
PAC and committee contributions, 2024 cycle.
Itemized, 2024 cycle.
No employers reported.
Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.
Rachelson voted with the majority of Vermont House Democrats on 100% of party-line votes and missed 14% of 74 roll calls. Vermont House on average: 92.1% party unity, 92.3% attendance. Across all roll calls, Rachelson voted against the majority of Vermont House Democrats 6 times.
74 roll calls Rachelson could vote on in the VT 2025–26 session, compared with Vermont House. Attendance is the share with a vote recorded. Party unity counts only party-line roll calls, where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides, and is the share of those where Rachelson voted with the majority of Vermont House Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.
votes against the majority of Vermont House Democrats
Party unity 100%, Vermont House average 92.1%, ranks 20th of 143. 74 roll calls in the VT 2025–26 session.
The thick bar is Rachelson, the thin grey bar the Vermont House average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.
| Row | Rachelson | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance | 86% | 92.3% |
| Party unity | 100% | 92.1% |
A missed roll call has many causes, from illness to campaigning, so attendance says how often, not why. A vote against the majority can be on procedure as well as substance, and many fall on roll calls where both parties split; the key votes below show the ones that decided something.
25 roll calls the lab flagged as key in the VT 2025–26 session
| Party split (yea–nay) | Why it’s key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | JRS 56 Joint resolution relating to final adjournment of the General Assembly in 2026 Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 65 of 130 to Pass -- Yeas = 114, Nays = 16 | Nay | Against majority | pass | D 59–11 · R 46–2 · I 2–1Democrats 59 yea, 11 nay; Republicans 46 yea, 2 nay; Independents 2 yea, 1 nay | party crossover |
| May 29, 2026 | H 955 An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 68 of 135 to Pass -- Yeas = 125, Nays = 10 | Yea | With majority | pass | D 68–7 · R 46–2 · I 2–1Democrats 68 yea, 7 nay; Republicans 46 yea, 2 nay; Independents 2 yea, 1 nay | became law |
| May 29, 2026 | H 949 An act relating to homestead property tax yields, the nonhomestead property tax rate, and technical changes to education finance Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 67 of 134 to Pass -- Yeas = 111, Nays = 23 | Yea | With majority | pass | D 58–16 · R 45–3 · I 1–2Democrats 58 yea, 16 nay; Republicans 45 yea, 3 nay; Independents 1 yea, 2 nay | became law · party crossover |
| May 28, 2026 | S 64 An act relating to amendments to the scope of practice for optometrists Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 66 of 131 to Pass -- Yeas = 93, Nays = 38 | Nay | Against majority | pass | D 39–33 · R 46–1 · I 2–1Democrats 39 yea, 33 nay; Republicans 46 yea, 1 nay; Independents 2 yea, 1 nay | became law · party crossover |
| May 26, 2026 | S 71 An act relating to consumer data privacy and online surveillance Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 66 of 132 to Pass -- Yeas = 129, Nays = 3 | Did not vote | — | pass | D 67–2 · R 48–1 · I 3–0Democrats 67 yea, 2 nay; Republicans 48 yea, 1 nay; Independents 3 yea, 0 nay | became law |
Automatically: a final-passage or override vote where the measure became law, the margin was under 10%, at least 10% of either party voted against its majority, or the bill was among the 25 most mentioned in officials’ own statements. Up to 25 per window, most recent first; five are shown. Bars show yea on the left, nay on the right, per party.
The colleagues who voted the same way as Rachelson most often
The colleagues who voted the same way as Rachelson least often
The share of roll calls both members voted on where they voted the same way, among colleagues sharing at least 50 such votes. High agreement with members of the other party is common on routine votes.
VT 2025–26 session, loads in batches
Rachelson sponsored 147 bills in the VT 2025–26 session; 10 became law. Cosponsored 0 others. 47% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Vermont House average 62%; 131st of 150).
The bills Rachelson sponsored and cosponsored in the VT 2025–26 session, from the official bill records, and how far each got: introduced, referred to or acted on in committee, passed one chamber, passed both, became law. A bill counts at every stage it has reached, so the blocks only shrink to the right.
Counts for the VT 2025–26 session
| Role | Introduced | In committee | Passed one chamber | Passed both chambers | Became law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored | 147 | 141 | 69 | 10 | 10 |
| Cosponsored | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ink blocks are bills Rachelson sponsored, ochre blocks bills Rachelson cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.
of sponsored bills got out of committee
Vermont House average 62%. Ranks 131st of 150.
Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Rachelson, by number of shared bills in the VT 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.
The score is the share of sponsored bills that a committee reported out or a chamber passed, with at least 5 sponsored bills, ranked within the peer group. Members of the majority party and committee chairs move more bills, so the rank reflects position in the chamber as well as effort. Cosponsorship partners are the five colleagues who share the most of Rachelson’s bills; the toggle shows more.
Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest
| HCR 307 | House concurrent resolution honoring Representative Kevin "Coach" Christie of Hartford for his inspirational civic leadership and extending future best wishes | Sponsor | May 21, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Ceremonial Reading May 26, 2026 |
| HCR 303 | House concurrent resolution extending best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to the indomitable Representative Anne de la Blanchetai Donahue of Northfield | Sponsor | May 14, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Ceremonial Reading May 19, 2026 |
| HCR 300 | House concurrent resolution in memory of gay rights advocate, political activist, culinary bibliophile, and chocolatier maven Terje Anderson | Sponsor | May 14, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Ceremonial Reading May 20, 2026 |
| HCR 301 | House concurrent resolution recognizing May 2026 as National Foster Care Month in Vermont | Sponsor | May 14, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Adopted pursuant to Joint Rule 16b May 15, 2026 |
| HCR 305 | House concurrent resolution honoring former Representative Francis Matthew (Topper) McFaun for his exemplary public and community service | Sponsor | May 14, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Ceremonial Reading May 21, 2026 |
A site that changed 2 times in 90 days. Rachelson’s official site had 1 page when last crawled on Oct 1, 2026.
The lab crawls Rachelson’s official and campaign websites (weekly for Congress, monthly for the states) and keeps every page’s text, so changes can be read later; it also records social accounts and describes the images Rachelson posts with a vision model.
pages crawled
changes in 90 days
“Pages crawled” is the size of the site at the last crawl; “changes in 90 days” counts pages whose text differed from the previous crawl. Sites change for many routine reasons, such as new press releases, so a high count is not by itself notable.
No images from Rachelson’s posts have been described.
Written by a vision model and may be wrong. Open the post to see the original. Five are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
23 turns, Jun 16, 2025 to May 29, 2026
Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.
How this page was made. Profile built Oct 28, 2026; site last built Oct 28, 2026. Every number on the page is computed from the sources listed here, by the same rules for every official; nothing is written by hand.
The headline is the measure on which Rachelson is most unusual among State House Democrats, chosen by one rule for every official of every party. The candidates are the rate of each kind of statement and of extreme labels, party unity, attendance, the small-donor share, the in-state share and total receipts of the latest cycle, the share of sponsored bills that got out of committee, talk-to-bills agreement, and the CSIP score’s place within the party group.
The builder ranks every measure within the same peer group the page compares it with, and writes each official’s percentile: the share of the group below the value, ties counting half, so 0.5 is the median and a value shared by many never ranks first. A measure’s score is how far that percentile sits from the median (0 in the middle, 0.5 at either end), and the highest score leads if it is above 0.25, outside the middle half of the group. Scores within 0.03 of each other are a tie, broken in this order: votes against the party majority, kinds of statement, ideology, roll calls missed, small donations, in-state money, legislation, agreement, extreme labels, receipts.
A measure counts only with at least 200 statements, 100 roll calls or 5 sponsored bills behind it and a peer group of at least 10. Two things never lead: high party unity or attendance, where most members sit, and a high rate of a kind of statement backed by fewer than 10 statements. When nothing qualifies, the headline is a neutral fact instead: statements classified, or years in office. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).
Bulk files with the same data for every official:
America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab